2009 swine flu pandemic actions concerning pigs

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In reaction to the 2009 flu pandemic, governments around the world had responded with countermeasures, some with extreme actions against pigs, which included the official extermination of all domestic pigs in Egypt and the culling of three wild boars at the Baghdad Zoo in Iraq. Many of these slaughters occurred in Muslim countries, and religious restrictions on the consumption of pork have been cited as influencing the decision to take such action.^{[citation needed]} Many other countries had also banned international trade in pigs and pork products.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that there is no reason to believe that pigs are transmitting the flu to humans.^[1]

On May 2, the first incident of transmission from humans to pigs was discovered on a farm in Alberta, where infected pigs were discovered.^[2] It is suspected that an infected farmhand who recently returned from Mexico infected the animals.^[3]